Watching Shang Wei depart, Shi Wang grew even more irritated. Shang Wei is getting out of control. He might need a reminder, he thought.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"He is getting disobedient. Why don't you let him see the effects of his actions?"
The person on the other end agreed, and the call ended.
Once again, he thought of Shi Nian. He couldn't stop thinking about that magnet. A tool like that would be extremely valuable in the construction industry. If only I could get my hands on it, he mused.
"How did she get her hands on something like that?" he muttered. "A friend?"
He couldn't recall any friend of hers capable of giving out such a powerful tool.
A name flashed through his mind—Lu Yanchen.
It must be from the Lu family.
Shi Wang felt a wave of regret. Touching anything that belonged to them was the same as asking for death.
Pushing that thought aside, he focused again on the plan he and his father had discussed. He needed to win over the shareholders on Ning Baocheng's side.
…
As usual, Shi Nian joined Qing Bai and his team in the laboratory.
She arrived even earlier than the researchers. After returning home last night, she had been unable to sleep.
When the researchers arrived, they were surprised to find her already inside. A few glanced at the time again to make sure they weren't late.
They weren't.
It was just 8:30 a.m., and BaiYue's work hours officially started at 9:00 a.m.
It seemed their director had the same idea as them—to begin early.
After greeting her, they rushed to their workstations and began their tasks.
Exactly at 9:00 a.m., Qing Bai arrived and was surprised to see Shi Nian fully settled in.
"Director Shi must have been here for an hour already," he thought, noticing the test tubes arranged in front of her.
"Old Bai," Shi Nian called out after noticing him lingering at the door.
"Good morning, Director Shi," Qing Bai greeted. Walking closer, he continued excitedly, "Director, we've succeeded in extracting about 90% purity of the XD formula."
"Good." Shi Nian nodded, reading through the records. The remaining 10% could be improved with more extraction runs now that the team had mastered the technique.
Noticing Qing Bai's slight disappointment, she added, "This is a massive improvement from the 50% purity you obtained last week. Good work, team. Your efforts have paid off."
A round of applause and cheerful chatter followed.
Looking at their bright faces, Shi Nian exhaled softly. It was worth it to build a team instead of doing everything herself.
After the applause died down, she addressed them again:
"Everyone has exceeded my expectations. A 90% extraction purity on the first major attempt—well done. Our goal is to reach at least 95%."
"My original intention was to let everyone get familiar with the extraction technique. Starting today, we will move on to the next phase—the fusion phase. The XD formula has low viscosity"—she glanced at Qing Bai,"and that may affect our final product."
"In the coming weeks, we'll be working on optimizing the fusion of the XD formula with our base product. This will be a strenuous process, but I'm looking forward to our results."
The team applauded again before dispersing back into their workrooms.
Shi Nian spent another three hours with them before returning to her office after lunch.
…
Knock knock…
"Come in," Shi Nian said.
"Director Shi, the PR team is ready to meet you," Secretary Shang informed her.
"Have them wait in the meeting room. I'll be there in five minutes."
Secretary Shang nodded and left to guide the team to the room.
When Shi Nian entered the meeting room, she saw Ding Shun and several PR members already seated.
Walking to her seat, she announced, "This meeting is scheduled for one hour. Let's keep to that."
The PR representative stood immediately, and the rest bowed in greeting.
He began presenting their plan.
"We plan to advertise the product using several billboards in parks, rail lines, and malls. We will also consider partnering with a few TV stations and online platforms."
He stopped speaking, as if that was all.
"Is this the plan you developed while considering BaiYue's current market situation?" Shi Nian asked.
"Yes, Director Shi," he answered.
"With BaiYue's current reputation, no matter how much we advertise, we won't be able to match last year's sales. This is a conservative plan. We intend to minimize losses by spending less."
Shi Nian immediately turned toward Ding Shun.
"Team Leader Ding, did you discuss this with the PR team beforehand?"
She continued, "I informed you clearly that this product line is meant to keep BaiYue afloat during this period. Did I not?"
Caught off guard, Ding Shun hesitated.
After a moment, he said, "Director Shi, yes. The PR team discussed the plan with me. I agreed, knowing your intentions for this product."
He continued, "The marketing department conducted a survey among BaiYue customers and the general public. The responses were overwhelmingly negative."
He paused.
"So instead of risking greater losses, we chose a more traditional, conservative approach."
"Team Leader Ding Shun," Shi Nian said sharply, "how does this sound reasonable to you?"
She stared at the so-called plan. She almost couldn't hold back her frustration.
"The survey did not yield positive responses, fine. A conservative plan is also acceptable. But how is spending 355,000,000 million Yuan on this conservative?"
Her voice echoed through the room.